


It's Always Fun to Play Cops and Robbers

by AshesAndDrums



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Doctor Clarke, Established Relationship, F/M, Gun Violence, Hostage Situations, Married Couple, Minor Monty Green/Harper McIntyre, POV Alternating, Police Officer Bellamy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshesAndDrums/pseuds/AshesAndDrums
Summary: “What are you doing the rest of the day?” he asks as they pick up their trash and toss it into the bin under his desk.She shrugs, “Just some errands. Some donor wrote us a really nice check and you know how Jackson trusts technology about as much as you do, so I offered to deposit it today since I was off. I’ll swing by the grocery store on the way home. Anything particular I should get for the week? I already grabbed the list off the fridge.”He gets up to kiss her goodbye and then she's out the door, saying goodbye to the rest of the squad as she leaves the precinct.He hasn't even been back at it for an hour when the work phone on his hip starts to vibrate. He unclips it and looks at the number in confusion. He swipes to answer and brings the phone to his ear.“Clarke?” He's not sure why she'd be calling this number and not his personal cell phone. Or why she’s calling him at all for that matter, he just saw her.There’s no response and he's about to say her name again when he hears gunshots on the other end and his blood runs cold.-Or the one where Clarke finds herself in a hostage situation and Bellamy will do anything to get her out.





	1. Chapter 1 - Bellamy POV

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on/avoiding this off and on for like a year and a half now. Finally put some structure behind it.

It seemed like every day the stack of papers on Bellamy's desk remained the same, no matter how many cases he’s signed off on or filed away. He has to remind himself that it’s a good thing; more files on his desk mean more cases solved and less dangerous people out on the streets. He tells himself this even as he lets out a sigh, a sigh he can feel deep in his bones, and moves another file to the completed stack.

He hears the raucous out in the bullpen before he registers her laugh among that of his squad’s. Bellamy looks up from the case files fanned out in front of him just as Clarke knocks on his door frame with a smile on her face.

He frowns at her, “I thought you were coming for lunch?”

She just rolls her eyes, fond but exasperated, “It's like 12:30. I texted you but you didn't reply.”

He glances at the digital clock in the corner of his computer screen and sure enough it's 12:26. He then glances at his phone and sees the blue light flashing in the corner that indicates he has a notification before looking back up at his wife with a sheepish smile. “Sorry?”

Clarke shrugs, “No big, I figured you were busy.” She walks into the room, long white flowing skirt down to her ankles and striped blue and white shirt making her baby bump look bigger than it was. She plops a brown paper grocery bag on the one paper free corner of his desk and starts pulling napkins out. “When you didn't reply, I stopped at Mrs. Vera’s to grab us some sandwiches.” She pulls out two plastic sandwich containers and weighs one in each hand, “One turkey BLT and one roast beef. Which do you want?”

He knows she's been craving tomatoes so he points to the one with roast beef and she hands it to him. She drops her purse on the floor and sits down in one of the chairs on the other side of his desk and pulls out two bags of chips while he shuffles some papers aside to make more room.

Once there’s adequate eating space they unwrap their sandwiches. “How was your appointment?” he asks.

Bellamy had been present for every doctor’s appointment since they took the home pregnancy test. Unfortunately, with his promotion to Sergeant and Clarke's temporary schedule change to help cover the staff shortage at the clinic, they weren't able to make a 20 week appointment that worked out for the both of them. Bellamy insisted that she go ahead but Clarke was determined to find out the gender together. So they compromised, Clarke went to her checkup and they have an ultrasound scheduled with one of Clarke’s associates during their lunch breaks next week. The perks of having doctor friends and access to ultrasound equipment.

She beams and answers his question, “Great! Everything looks good, measured on track.”

“Good.”

“You know how I told you my scrubs didn't fit right last week? Turns out I gained eight more pounds. Eight pounds! I told you I was getting bigger.”

“I never disagreed with you,” he says and then adds after a pause “I just never agreed with you.”

She tosses a mayonnaise packet aimed at his head but it just bounces off his chest and he catches it with a smile.

She pouts at him a bit longer before her face gives way to a small exasperated smile. “And, taking in those eight additional pounds, would you like to know what we’ve got this week?”

It's a game they've been playing since they found out Clarke was pregnant. They’ve both downloaded a pregnancy app to their phones and each week they pull it up to see what size fruit or vegetable or whatever their baby is the size of. The app has a lot of other useful information but this feature is by far the most fun. Every week when they’re making the grocery list, they pull up the app and if it's something that doesn't make Clarke nauseous then they buy it.

He thinks it over before responding, “21 weeks?”

“21 weeks,” she confirms and rustles through the grocery bag that she’d moved to the floor. With a flourish, she presents him with a bag of baby carrots. “Get it? _Baby_ carrots,” she chuckles at her own joke. “Obviously the baby is much bigger than one of these but this is all Mrs. Vera had. I could have gone and bought _actual_ carrots but then I would’ve had to figure out how to cut them before lunch.”

Bellamy chuckles as he reaches for the bag of carrots. He stares at it for a beat and looks back up at her. “I love you.”

She returns his smile, “I love you too.”

“We have some bananas leftover from last week that are starting to turn. I might make banana bread for Madi to take to soccer practice.”

“She’d like that,” Clarke says before taking a big bite of her sandwich.

They spend Bellamy’s lunch hour discussing Clarke’s appointment before going over the logistics of the birthday sleepover Madi’s going to this weekend after practice. The hour is up before he knows it and he really _really_ needs to get back to work.

“What are you doing the rest of the day?” he asks as they pick up their trash and toss it into the bin under his desk.

She shrugs, “Just some errands. Some donor wrote us a really nice check and you know how Jackson trusts technology about as much as you do, so I offered to deposit it today since I was off. I’ll swing by the grocery store on the way home. Anything particular I should get for the week? I already grabbed the list off the fridge.”

“Lunchmeat and coffee creamer,” he answers, trying to remember what he’d already added to the list. “And whatever you're craving.”

She gives him a devilish smile, “You're gonna regret that.”

He gets up to kiss her goodbye and then she's out the door, saying goodbye to the rest of the squad as she leaves the precinct.

Bellamy glances back at the stacks of paper and sighs, resigning himself to the fact that his work isn’t going complete itself if he just stands here glaring at it.

He hasn't even been back at it for an hour when the work phone on his hip starts to vibrate. He unclips it and looks at the number in confusion. He swipes to answer and brings the phone to his ear.

“Clarke?” He's not sure why she'd be calling this number and not his personal cell phone. Or why she’s calling him at all for that matter, he just saw her.

There’s no response and he's about to say her name again when he hears gunshots on the other end and his blood runs cold.

“Clarke!” he shouts into the phone, knocking his chair back as he shoots to his feet. Miller comes in just as it clatters to the floor.

“We got a bank with a silent alarm going off-” he stops himself at the look on Bellamy's face, “What's wrong?”

“What bank?” he asks, phone still pressed painfully to his ear. He knows the answer as he hears indistinguishable yelling through the receiver.

“Bank of Arkadia. On the corner of Alpha and Second.”

Bellamy pales. It’s the bank Clarke would have gone to.


	2. Chapter 2 - Clarke POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Right,” Harper turns back to Clarke, “I'll text you later and we can set up a playdate with Jordan at our place. Maybe grill out?”
> 
> Clarke smiles, “We’d love that.”
> 
> Harper gives a quick wave and turns to follow the bank worker. Before she's able to take one step, the front doors of the building are kicked open and three men with guns enter the place. Their faces are obscured by what look like children’s animal masks.
> 
> “Alright, everyone! Hands where we can see them and get on the ground!” the guy wearing the face of a lion yells as he aims his gun at the people queued in line.
> 
> The doors close and the other two robbers that were flanking him start to spread out around the room. The guy wearing a tiger mask tosses the first guy a duffle bag.
> 
> “You, behind the counter, hands where I can see them,” the lion masked guy demands again as he makes his way over to the tellers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author hates going to the bank.

Generally speaking, Clarke hates the bank. She always feels like she has to rush to get there before they close, go out of her way to get there when all she really wants to do is go home, and of course it’s waiting in a line of all the other nine-to-fivers that also rushed to get there. Mobile banking was honestly a godsend... Even if Bellamy still prefers to do things the old fashioned way. Clarke honestly just did her banking when he wasn’t looking.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), the clinic was gifted a sizeable check from some local donor and given an amount of this size, hand-to-hand in person was the best way to handle it. At least that’s what Clarke’s colleague believed. It worked out though that Clarke took the whole day off for her doctor's appointment. Honestly, she should take days off during the week more often, she gets so much done. Maybe she can convince the other docs in her group to go along with it and they can start up some kind of rotating schedule.

She pulls into a space and glances down at her belly, “Though I guess you'll be taking up a lot of my time in a few months. Won't you?”  She caresses her stomach briefly before getting out of the car and heading inside. 

There's about a dozen people in the lobby, more people than she thought there would be considering it's the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday. Apparently they had the same thought she did and hoped it would be less busy after normal lunching hours. Clarke moves to get in line and pulls her phone out of her purse. It’s almost 2 o'clock so Madi should be getting out of school on early release soon. She sends a quick text to her daughter to ask what she wants for dinner, and then thinks she might as well text Maya and ask how things are going at the clinic today.

“Clarke?”

Clarke looks up and immediately smiles. “Hi, Harper,” she greets and walks over to where her friend is sitting in one of the chairs that are clustered together to serve as a waiting area.

“Funny running into you here,” Harper starts with a smile and glances down at Clarke's bump. She’s beaming when she looks back up. “God, I know we just saw you guys like two weeks ago but look at you!”

Clarke laughs. “I'll never look as good as you did carrying Jordan.” Which is completely true, Harper was all belly whereas Clarke feels like she’s gained weight everywhere.

Harper just waves her hand through the air, “You look great.”

“Well, thank you. What are you doing here?”

Harper rolls her eyes, “Monty wants to start putting away some money for Jordan's future. He’s been a little… intense since Jordan turned one. So I made an appointment to discuss some options and get information.” At the look on Clarke's face, she continues dryly, “Which ‘World’s Greatest Dad’ Bellamy Blake has already done, hasn't he.”

Clarke laughs again, “Nothing like that, I don’t think, but he did set up various savings accounts when we adopted Madi.” She shrugs and pats her belly, “I'm just doing the work and letting him handle all that stuff.”

Both women are still giggling when a woman with slicked back hair and a well-tailored pinstripe suit comes out of one of the offices.

“Mrs. Green?”

Harper raises a hand as she stands up, “That's me.”

“Charmaine Diyoza, Assistant Manager,” she extends a hand with a face that's all business. “Please follow me this way into my office,” she gestures towards the doors that line the waiting area.

“Right,” Harper turns back to Clarke, “I'll text you later and we can set up a playdate with Jordan at our place. Maybe grill out?”

Clarke smiles, “We’d love that.”

Harper gives a quick wave and turns to follow the bank worker. Before she's able to take one step, the front doors of the building are kicked open and three men with guns enter the place. Their faces are obscured by what look like children’s animal masks.

“Alright, everyone! Hands where we can see them and get on the ground!” the guy wearing the face of a lion yells as he aims his gun at the people queued in line.

The doors close and the other two robbers that were flanking him start to spread out around the room. The guy wearing a tiger mask tosses the first guy a duffle bag.

“You, behind the counter, hands where I can see them,” the lion masked guy demands again as he makes his way over to the tellers.

The third guy is wearing the mask of a bear and is easily twice as big as the other two. He moves quietly along the perimeter to check the offices, pulling people out and tossing them unceremoniously on the floor as he goes.

Clarke clutches her purse tightly to her shoulder as she slides down to sit in one of the chairs she’s standing next to. As discreetly as possible, phone still in her hand, she navigates to her emergency contacts from her lock screen and taps Bellamy’s work phone without looking. Before the guy in the bear mask can even turn in her direction, she’s already slid her phone into one of the outside pockets of her purse. He glances at her and continues with his walk around the perimeter of the room.

Half the people are already on the floor but a few are hesitating, clearly still in shock. Suddenly the man with the tiger mask fires his weapon into the air.

“He said, everybody get down!” he yells.

Clarke slides onto her knees and positions her purse so it's under the chair she was just sitting in.  

The big guy seems to be done emptying out the offices and starts walking back towards the double doors, she assumes to keep lookout. The guy in the lion mask still has his gun trained on a poor teller as she puts stacks of money into the duffle he’d tossed on the counter. That leaves the guy in the tiger mask to walk the lobby and take stock of the all the hostages. He walks past her and does a double take.

“I said get down!” he says and aims his gun at her.

Clarke looks up and can barely make out the robber’s eyes through the slits in his mask. She shoots him an unimpressed look, hoping it masks the fear she feels coursing through her. “That's a little difficult,” she replies.

The man looks at her as if seeing her for the first time and takes in her belly.

He huffs and lowers his weapon, “Alright just, stay where you are. Hands flat on the ground in front of you.”

She nods and does as she's told. Clarke looks over at Harper where she’s lying flat on her stomach on the ground. Her friend meets her eyes and she tries to convey as much assurance as she can that they’ll get out of this. It must work because Harper’s face morphs into one of determination and she gives a slight nod.

Clarke looks around the room to see if she can get anyone else’s attention and assure them that everything was going to be ok, that help would come.

She circles back around to Harper and her attention falls to the Assistant Manager next to her. Unlike everyone else in the room that looks scared or even downright terrified, this woman, Diyoza, has a questioning look on her face. A look that turns downright murderous when the guy in the lion mask turns away from the counter to survey the room behind him.


	3. Chapter 3 - Bellamy POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “All due respect, sir, but what are you doing here?”
> 
> Kane glances briefly at Miller and then back to Bellamy. “I’ve been briefed on the situation and was in the area. I thought I could offer support.”
> 
> Bellamy blinks and turns to his partner. “You told him about Clarke,” it wasn’t a question.
> 
> Miller squares his shoulders and meets his stare. “I was afraid your judgment would be compromised,” he says.
> 
> Despite the situation, Bellamy lets out a snort. “And you think having Clarke’s stepfather here is any better?” this time it was a question.
> 
> “I just-“
> 
> “I think what Officer Miller is implying,” Kane starts, cutting off whatever Miller was going to say, “Is that I might be less likely to let my feelings get involved. Given my years of experience in the field.”
> 
> “I’m fine.”
> 
> Kane looks him over and it takes all of Bellamy’s restraint not to glare at his superior officer. “Of course,” Kane concedes, “And we’re going to get everyone out of this situation.”
> 
> Bellamy and Miller glare at each other for a beat longer, which Kane either doesn’t see or chooses to ignore, before they nod and get back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author knows nothing about the police force or hostage situations. This is parts brief googling, some Brooklyn 99, other fiction I've read, and just stuff I said "what the hell". Enjoy!

For a brief moment before they left the precinct, he’d contemplated punching Miller in the face in order to get the keys to the cruiser. But right now, riding in the passenger seat, he was grateful his partner had insisted on driving. Bellamy could barely even register where they were going, let alone what roads they were taking. He just knew he had to get to that bank. He had to get to _Clarke_.

He glances at his phone where it was plugged into the docking station on the dash. The call was still going; they could still hear what was happening inside the bank, albeit the voices were a little faint or even nonexistent at times. How Clarke managed to call him and hide it? Bellamy has no idea. He feels a little bubble of pride course through him but it's immediately squashed by the sheer amount of fear and anxiety he feels. As a precaution, he put his side of the call on mute before he and Miller got into their car and turned on the siren.

To Miller’s credit, he does seem to be breaking as many traffic laws as Bellamy himself would have broken if he were the one driving. They’re flying through intersections as chatter comes through the radio on his shoulder; other units relaying their ETA to the crime scene.

“Other units are on their way,” Miller says after copying something into his own radio. When Bellamy only nods in response, he adds, “She's going to be ok, man.”

He feels a muscle jump as he tightens his jaw. All he can do is nod again.

Despite how quickly they responded to the call, there was already another squad car parked outside of the bank when they pulled into the parking lot.

Bellamy steels himself before getting out of the car, taking a deep breath to get his head on straight. When he gets out, he greets the other officers, “Officer Monroe, Officer Sterling.”

“Sergeant Blake,” they both respond with a nod.

“Any updates on the situation?”

Officer Monroe shakes her head, “Number of assailants and hostages unknown. We’ve cleared the parking lot and called for tech support to see if we can get any eyes inside.”

Bellamy nods, clutching his phone in his hand. He’s not ready to tell them that he technically has eyes inside. Not yet, not until he has a better handle on what they’re dealing with. “We need to check the building perimeter, see if they have any accomplices on the outside. Officer Miller and I will continue the crowd control out here and wait for the rest of the backup.”

The two officers nod and take off in opposite directions around the building just as an unmarked squad car pulls up. The driver steps out and Bellamy is surprised to see who it is.

“Captain Kane?”

His boss gives him a curt nod, “Sergeant Blake.”

“All due respect, sir, but what are you doing here?”

Kane glances briefly at Miller and then back to Bellamy. “I’ve been briefed on the situation and was in the area. I thought I could offer support.”

Bellamy blinks and turns to his partner. “You told him about Clarke,” it wasn’t a question.

Miller squares his shoulders and meets his stare. “I was afraid your judgment would be compromised,” he says.

Despite the situation, Bellamy lets out a snort. “And you think having Clarke’s _stepfather_ here is any better?” this time it was a question.

“I just-“

“I think what Officer Miller is implying,” Kane starts, cutting off whatever Miller was going to say, “Is that I might be less likely to let my feelings get involved. Given my years of experience in the field.”

“I’m fine.”

Kane looks him over and it takes all of Bellamy’s restraint not to glare at his superior officer. “Of course,” Kane concedes, “And we’re going to get _everyone_ out of this situation.”

Bellamy and Miller glare at each other for a beat longer, which Kane either doesn’t see or chooses to ignore, before they nod and get back to work.

More officers show up and the street is properly blocked off on either end so no cars can come down it. Officer Monroe and Officer Sterling come back and report that they found a car a block over that was left running but nobody was in it. Either the getaway driver hightailed it out of there when they heard the sirens or the robbers expected this to be a quick in and out job.

“How did they not expect there to be a silent alarm?” Miller asks no one in particular. The van had just arrived with tech support and they were walking over to it, Captain Kane in toe.

“Because it was just reinstalled last week.”

Monty was already out of the police van and moving around to open the back doors revealing computer monitors and cables. “The alarm system was being upgraded and was disabled a few weeks ago,” he continues as he starts pulling up building codes on a tablet. “If these guys cased the place beforehand, their information is outdated.” He hands the tablet over to their Captain.

“You think it was an inside job?” Bellamy asks as he looks over Kane’s shoulder while Monty gets the rest of his equipment set up.

He shrugs, “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to figure out? But I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Bellamy looks back at the building. All the blinds have been closed and they can’t make out any movement behind them. They need to know how many are inside, assailants and hostages.

“We need to get inside.”

Kane glances at him, “No, we wait for the negotiator. We follow protocol. They’ll be making demands soo-”

“ _We_ can negotiate with them,” Bellamy interrupts, “Waiting for a negotiator is wasting time that we may not have.”

Kane turns to look at him properly. “Sergeant-“

“We don’t know how many are inside but we know they’re armed. We-“

“Perhaps you should step away, Sergeant Blake.”

His reply comes out eerily calm, “Like hell I’m leaving.”

“Bellamy,” the older man sighs, “this is personal for you. You shouldn't be here.”

“Sir, with all due respect, if you dismiss me then I will find my own way into that damn building and get my wife out myself.”

Monty’s head whips over to him in surprise but Bellamy doesn’t break eye contact with Kane.

“We might have eyes inside,” Monty says suddenly, breaking the tension. “The building plans show security cameras in the lobby.”

“Security cameras?” Miller asks and steps closer to get a look over Monty’s shoulder.

“Three,” Monty confirms, fingers flying across his keyboard. He frowns, “They’re all offline.”

“Offline?” Bellamy asks, the argument he was having with his Captain put on hold for the time being.

“Yeah, all three went down at,” he squints at the screen, “Noon this morning. Some outside signal is jamming them.”

“Can you trace it?” Kane asks at the same time Bellamy asks, “Can you get them back up?”

Monty huffs, “I can do both but one thing at a time.”

Kane doesn’t even look at Bellamy before making his order. “Trace it.”

Bellamy steps away from the van before he does something stupid like shake Monty and demand that he follow his order first over their Captain’s.

He raises his cell phone to his ear, hoping he can somehow get an update on the situation inside. He can hear people whispering but they’re talking too quietly to make out any of the words. It sounds like somebody’s crying.

‘ _It’s going to be ok,_ ’ he hears and finally feels the tightness in his chest loosen just a bit. That’s Clarke’s voice, reassuring the other hostages. He’s not surprised. He knows his wife and he knows she's going to try everything she can to protect everyone. That’s what worries him.


	4. Chapter 4 - Clarke POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shit, the cops got here faster than I thought.” The Lion turns from the window and addresses the bank tellers that are cowering together, “Somebody must have triggered a silent alarm.”
> 
> “Silent alarm!?” The Tiger jerks to a stop and his head whips around to look at his boss. “You said this place didn't have an alarm! All we had to worry about were the cameras!”
> 
> The Lion was about to respond when the assistant manager interrupts him from her place on the ground next to Harper.
> 
> “The new alarm system was just installed last week,” Diyoza states, her voice hard as steel. She lifts up her head so she can look the Lion directly in the eyes and Clarke has a funny feeling that even with the mask obscuring his face, this woman is succeeding.
> 
> “It hasn't been added to the official layout for the building yet,” Diyoza continues. She starts to push herself up, anger pulsating off of her in waves. “Anybody casing the place wouldn't know about it,” she pauses, she’s sitting up completely on her knees now, “McCreary.”
> 
> Clarke's eyes shoot to the man with the lion mask and she swears she can see a smirk forming on his face behind it.
> 
> “Well done, Diyoza.”

“It's going to be ok.”

“I said shut up!”

Clarke looks away from the elderly couple she was trying to comfort and glares at the guy that was wearing the tiger mask but he's already turned away from her.

He's agitated, has been since the first police car parked outside. All of them heard the sirens, the opening and slamming of car doors and the general bustle that comes with a police command post being set up outside. After frantically pulling down all of the blinds, the Tiger has been alternating between pacing behind the front windows and pacing along the teller’s counter in the back, which Clarke finds ironic and wonders if he chose his mask or if it was chosen for him. The bag of money sits on the ground almost forgotten. Occasionally he stops as if to pick it up but a sharp look or grunt from the guy wearing the lion mask stops him and he continues pacing.

The Lion is definitely the leader. That’s the first observation Clarke makes as she studies the three of them. While the guy with the tiger mask was messing with the blinds, the other two men seemed unfazed. Though, it seemed hard to get any sort of reaction out of the guy wearing the bear mask. He hasn’t said a word this entire time, even before the cops showed up. Right now he’s standing, or looming rather, over the group of hostages with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

There were sixteen hostages altogether between the employees and the customers; Clarke counted and recounted to make sure she didn’t miss anyone. A few were ushered into groups closer together, presumably to keep a better eye on them. Nobody seems in danger of doing anything stupid to which Clarke is extremely grateful. The last thing they need is for someone to play the hero. She just needs to keep everyone calm while she tries to figure out what to do next; how to get them all out of this.

With the leader peeking out through the blinds and the other two men not paying her any attention, Clarke gingerly moves to arch her back as if to stretch it out and glances briefly at her purse that sits only about a foot away. She wonders if her call even went through. And if it did go through was Bellamy still on the other line?

Was he outside right now?

“Shit, the cops got here faster than I thought.” The Lion turns from the window and addresses the bank tellers that are cowering together, “Somebody must have triggered a silent alarm.” Even with the mask, Clarke can hear the taunting smile in his voice.

“Silent alarm!?” The Tiger jerks to a stop and his head whips around to look at his boss. “You said this place didn't have an alarm! All we had to worry about were the cameras!”

The Lion was about to respond when the assistant manager interrupts him from her place on the ground next to Harper.

“The new alarm system was just installed last week,” Diyoza states, her voice hard as steel. She lifts up her head so she can look the Lion directly in the eyes and Clarke has a funny feeling that even with the mask obscuring his face, this woman is succeeding.

“It hasn't been added to the official layout for the building yet,” Diyoza continues. She starts to push herself up, anger pulsating off of her in waves. “Anybody casing the place wouldn't know about it,” she pauses, she’s sitting up completely on her knees now, “McCreary.”

Clarke's eyes shoot to the man with the lion mask and she swears she can see a smirk forming on his face behind it.

“Well done, Diyoza.”

“You son of a bitch!” she moves as if to lunge for him.

“Ah ah ah,” McCreary says and aims his gun at her, causing some of the other hostages to whimper. He walks closer to the little waiting area. “Let’s not go doing something we’ll regret.”

“Like robbing a fucking bank!?” she shouts. “Like robbing _my_ bank?”

He moves his mask to sit on top of his head so she can properly see his smile and Clarke didn’t think she’d say it but the animal mask was actually less creepy. “You always said I lacked drive… ambition. Turns out, I just needed the right motivation.”

“So what exactly is your plan here...McCreary is it?” Clarke interrupts them, thinking fast. She takes this as an opportunity to sit up straight as well, relief spreading through her as she properly stretches out her back from being in that hunched position. “The three of you aren't going to make it out of here,” she continues, trying to explain things as rationally as she can, “They’ve probably got the building surrounded.”

“A minor setback, sure,” McCreary shrugs but his gun never leaves Diyoza, “But I can't say that the end result won't be the same.”

“I am not letting you see her,” Diyoza says suddenly, “You will _never_ have contact with her.”

“That’s what you say now,” he says with a slow smile, “but what happens when I’m the only family she has left?”

It all seems to happen in slow motion. Clarke hears the gun go off as McCreary fires at Diyoza. She follows the path of the bullet with her eyes and watches as the woman reacts and tries to move out of the way. But she’s not fast enough and the bullet manages to hit her in the shoulder.

Diyoza cries out in pain as the force knocks her onto her back and Clarke is acting on instinct. She shuffles over to her as quickly as she can and begins applying pressure to the wound.

Clarke swears as blood seeps through the woman’s clothes. “Harper!” she shouts and her friend is at her side in an instant. “Help me get her jacket off.”

“Right.”

As quickly and delicately, as they can, they remove her suit jacket and Clarke peels away the woman’s white blouse so she can properly see the bullet hole.

“And what do we have here.”

Clarke chances a glance up to see McCreary standing over them. He looks at her and the two of them stare at each other, neither one of them willing to break eye contact first.

“She's a doctor!” Harper shouts and that manages to snap her out of it.

Clarke turns her attention back to Diyoza but she can still feel McCreary’s eyes on her. “Diyoza, can you hear me?” she asks.

Diyoza grits her teeth in pain but she manages a nod. Clarke instructs Harper to keep her hands over the bullet wound while she turns and reaches back over where she was for her purse. She drags it over and pulls out the small medical kit she keeps inside for emergencies.

When she turns back around, McCreary is crouched down now so he’s at their level and she freezes. His smile turns wicked as he looks from Clarke to Diyoza and back and a cold feeling washes over her.

“So, doc, what’s your professional opinion? The patient going to live?”

Before he can say anything else, the screeching feedback from a megaphone being turned on is heard from outside, drawing all of their attention.

**“This is the Arkadia Police. We have you surrounded.”**

A sob gets caught in Clarke's throat because that's _Bellamy's_ voice. He's _here_.

She looks to Harper and her friend gives her a subtle smile and nod to tell her that, yes, she hears it too.

**“We want to discuss your terms on releasing the hostages.”**


	5. Chapter 5 - Bellamy POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy bites the inside of his cheek to get himself in check before speaking. “It’s been an hour. The negotiator isn’t here. What was the point of attending those Hostage Negotiations Trainings if we weren’t going to use them?”
> 
> Kane didn’t have a response to that so Bellamy barreled on.
> 
> “There are three assailants inside,” he states. “One goes by the name McCreary.”
> 
> Kane gives him a questioning look, “How do you know this?”
> 
> Bellamy silently holds up his cell phone and realization dawns on his Captain’s face.
> 
> “Clarke’s trying to feed you information.”
> 
> Bellamy nods. “We don’t know how many hostages are in there but I’m hoping she’ll find a way to tell us that too.”
> 
> Kane is silent and Bellamy is going to take it as a sign that he's not going to be forcibly removed from the scene or worse fired... For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author still knows nothing about how an actual police force works.

The sound of a gunshot vibrates through his ear and Bellamy almost drops the phone. This was closer than any of the other noises and whispered conversations he’d been listening to up to now. The officers around him are immediately on alert, guns drawn and aimed at the building but no more shots are fired.

Since he could do nothing but wait, per Kane’s order, he had been trying to listen in, hoping he'd hear something useful. Suddenly one of the other hostages was laying into one of the bank robbers and then Clarke was trying to get a word in. Next thing he knew a trigger was pulled.

He refocuses on the call and hears commotion through the receiver, Clarke rustling through her bag and giving  _ Harper _ orders. It sounds like the other hostage that was yelling at the man has been shot and Bellamy  _ hates _ how relieved that makes him feel. That it wasn't his wife that was injured. Still, it doesn't help ease the knot in his gut.

_ ‘And what do we have here?’ _

That voice, a voice no doubt belonging to one of those armed men, is closer to the other end of the phone than it has been. A chill runs up Bellamy’s spine and before he knows what he's doing, he’s popping the trunk of his squad car and rifling through it for the megaphone.

_ ‘She's a doctor!’ _

None of the other officers pay him any attention as he walks a little closer to the building. He hears the man on the phone address Clarke again and Bellamy brings the megaphone to his lips.

**“This is the Arkadia Police. We have you surrounded.”** He pauses, waiting a beat to ensure he has everyone's full attention before continuing,  **“We want to discuss your terms on releasing the hostages.”**

He barely has time to release the button on the megaphone before it's being ripped out of his hands.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Bellamy yanks the megaphone back from Miller. “I’m tired of waiting. We need to do something and we need to do it  _ now _ .”

“Dude, do you want to get fired?!”

“Someone’s been shot!” Bellamy yells.

“I have to agree with Officer Miller,” Kane says, coming up behind them. His face is schooled into one of calm that you only get from years on the force, but his eyes are blazing with fury. “We agreed to wait for the negotiator.”

Bellamy bites the inside of his cheek to get himself in check before speaking. “It’s been an hour. The negotiator isn’t here. What was the point of attending those Hostage Negotiations Trainings if we weren’t going to use them?”

Kane didn’t have a response to that so Bellamy barreled on.

“There are three assailants inside,” he states. “One goes by the name McCreary.”

Kane gives him a questioning look, “How do you know this?”

Bellamy silently holds up his cell phone and realization dawns on his Captain’s face.

“Clarke’s trying to feed you information.”

Bellamy nods. “We don’t know how many hostages are in there but I’m hoping she’ll find a way to tell us that too.”

Kane is silent and Bellamy is going to take it as a sign that he's not going to be forcibly removed from the scene or worse fired... For now.

“We got an address where the jamming signal came from,” Monty yells from the back of his van.

"Excellent," Kane says, "We'll send a team to check it out. You there..."

“You said we have a name?” Miller asks Bellamy while their Captain issues orders to other officers. He's still kind of glaring at him but as long as his partner's on his side then he doesn't care. “We should run it through the system,” he nods back towards Monty’s various computers. Bellamy glances at the technician and it reminds him of something else he learned while listening in.

He wars with himself for half a minute, but regardless of the situation, he'd want someone to tell him if Clarke was involved in a situation like this. Monty deserves to know there's a very strong chance his wife is in there too.

“There's something else,” he says, drawing the attention back to him before breaking the news.

“Harper?” Monty asks quietly after he’s explained everything.

Bellamy gives him a firm nod.

“Are you sure?”

“Call her, see if she answers,” he suggests but Monty is already ahead of him.

Monty stares at him and his eyes grow impossibly wider. “Voicemail.” He dials again but they all know she's not going to answer.

He hears Miller kick the asphalt and swear somewhere behind him. At some point Kane came back over and he reaches out to place a comforting hand on Monty’s shoulder.

“Mr. Green, if you need a moment…” he begins.

But he doesn't. Monty may seem the most docile but he’s stubborn in his own way and resilient. He's about as likely to leave the scene as Bellamy is at this point.

“What's next?” he asks, looking right at Bellamy despite their Captain being there.

Bellamy nods, “We have a name. Run a search for ‘McCreary’ in the database and any known affiliations. There's three men total so we need to figure out who the two accomplices are.”

Monty nods and turns back to his keyboard.

Bellamy sighs and rubs a hand over his face until he starts to see stars behind the back of his eyelids. When he opens them, they readjust to find his Captain staring at him.

“Sir?”

Kane shakes his head. “This is your hostage situation now, Sergeant Blake. We'll follow your lead.”

Bellamy blinks in surprise before giving his boss a firm nod. He turns to Miller who also nods.

With a deep breath he walks back towards the building and raises the megaphone once more.

**"We heard shots fired. Does anyone inside need medical attention?"**

He lowers the megaphone and brings his cell phone to his ear. He can still hear discussion and movement as Harper and Clarke presumably patch up Diyoza. No one responds to his offer.

_ ‘Well are you going to negotiate with them? Or do you plan on shooting the rest of us too? I don't know if I have enough supplies for 15 people." _

Once again, despite the situation, Bellamy can't help but be a little proud of his wife.

“There are sixteen hostages inside,” he says quickly to the team behind him. “Any matches on the name yet?”

“Paxton McCreary," Monty says and transfers the information from his computer to his tablet before handing it over. "He's got priors; B&E, grand theft, arson, and that was before he was a mob enforcer."

"How much time did he serve?" Bellamy asks as he looks over the guy's mugshot. He's just as creepy as he sounded. The thought of him close to Clarke sends another chill up his spine.

Monty snorts, "Which time? Most recent was only 5 years until he was released to community service."

“Of course,” Miller rolls his eyes.

"Divorced,” Monty continues, reading the information from his monitor, “Has a daughter from that marriage…”

And that’s when Bellamy notices it. “Son of a bitch,” he breathes.

“What?” Kane asks.

“Guess who he was married to,” he tilts the tablet and points at a name.

“Charmaine Diyoza…?” he reads.

“That's the hostage that just got shot.”

Monty went back to typing. “She works at the bank… Assistant Manager.”

Bellamy pauses and glances back at the building, “So maybe this wasn't just a robbery.”

“Or it was an inside job,” Miller points out.

"Then why would he shoot her?" Monty asks.

Something Diyoza said comes back to him and Bellamy slowly pieces it together. "He's not planning on letting her go. It's not about the money for him.” He looks over at his Captain, “He wants his daughter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having performance anxiety with this fic. All the chapters are written except chapter 9 but the editing process is holding me up. I'm working on my confidence and hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6 - Clarke POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Bellamy?”
> 
> The silence feels like it stretches on for hours but is probably seconds before she hears the click of the other end being unmuted.
> 
> “Clarke?”
> 
> She sighs in relief as a few remaining tears fall. “Bellamy,” she breathes.
> 
> The relief in his voice is the same, “Hey, Princess.”
> 
> “It's good to hear you.”
> 
> “It's good to hear you too.”
> 
> As much as she wants to revel in this moment, she knows she doesn't have a lot of time. Bellamy must know that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would not exist without my friend, Kelly. She told me to "do what you want" because I was so caught up in what I thought readers thought should happen.
> 
> I cannot stress enough how much I do not know about bullet wounds or medical things....or pregnancy.

Thankfully, the wound was a through-and-through. Clarke didn't know where the bullet itself ended up but honestly she didn't care, she was just grateful she didn't have to dig it out of Diyoza's shoulder. 

There wasn't as many supplies in her med kit as she thought there would be. Madi must have used some after that last soccer match and forgot to restock. Clarke cleaned around the bullet hole as best she could with a water bottle from Harper’s bag and was able to apply a few stitches to the entry and exit points. After using all the gauze, she ripped off pieces of her skirt in order to make strips of bandages.

She glances over at Diyoza now, leaning against Harper as her friend helps support her weight to stay upright. From the determined look on her face, Clarke can tell the woman has been through a lot worse.

She’s not sure how long it’s been since Bellamy last reached out to try and negotiate but these guys weren't budging… Or rather McCreary wasn’t budging. The guy in the Tiger mask, Rabe apparently is his name or at least that's what McCreary keeps yelling at him every time he so much as mentions cooperating, has removed his mask and is still pacing the room and has even escalated to pulling on his long hair.

There was one good thing about Diyoza being shot. It gave Clarke a chance to discreetly rummage through her purse while she pulled out her medical kit. Now if she could just get somewhere private...

“So, what exactly is your big plan here?” Rabe asks.

McCreary is still standing at the windows, clearly unafraid of potentially being shot at... or maybe he's daring the cops outside to do just that. “We're letting them sweat it out,” he says. “A few more hours, once it's dark, we'll sneak out through Plan B with one of the hostages.”

“ _That's_ your big plan!?”

He finally turns and looks Rabe right in the eye, “I'm not going back to prison and I'm not leaving empty handed.”

They’re both silent after that and Clarke takes this as her moment to interrupt, “I need to use the bathroom.”

Rabe shoots her a dirty look, “Hold it.”

She levels him with a dry stare, “Obviously you've never had a baby pressing down on your bladder before.”

He takes her in like he always does when he realizes she's there and is, in fact, pregnant, and then turns to McCreary for orders.

“Kodiak,” McCreary says, turning his attention back to the windows.

In an instant, the guy wearing the bear mask is looming over her. He still hasn't removed his mask or said a word this entire time. Before Clarke can start to stand he's got a hand under her arm and is wrenching her to her feet.

“Down the hall, second on the left,” Diyoza whispers to her before they start walking.

Once they're in the hallway, Clarke blinks at the doors lining the walls. More offices, conference rooms, some storage closets, and two restrooms, one for men and one for women. She doesn't even hesitate when she notices the second door on the left is actually the men's before making a beeline for the door.

She doesn't give Kodiak a chance to even consider following her before shutting the door and locking it. She turns around, taking in the room. It's a single with a standard toilet, urinal, and sink. Walking over to the sink, she turns on the water as high as it will go to drown out any sound before gripping both sides to steady herself, taking big, even gulps of air. 

She looks up and catches her reflection in the mirror, taking in how haggard she looks. There are specks of blood on her face and even in her hair, not to mention the state of her clothes. It looks like she pulled a shift in an Emergency Room.

With that mentality, it's easy to fall into habit, to think she's just prepping for surgery. She's not sure at what point in her scrubbing that silent tears started to fall down her cheeks. 

With her hands sufficiently clean, or at least as clean as they're going to get, Clarke fishes around the front of her shirt where she hid her Bluetooth earpiece. She clips it to her ear and presses the button to turn it on and prays she's still in range for it to pick up her phone.

“Bellamy?”

The silence feels like it stretches on for _hours_ but is probably seconds before she hears the click of the other end being unmuted.

_“Clarke?”_

She sighs in relief as a few remaining tears fall. “Bellamy,” she breathes.

The relief in his voice is the same, _“Hey, Princess.”_

“It's good to hear you.”

_“It's good to hear you too.”_

As much as she wants to revel in this moment, she knows she doesn't have a lot of time. Bellamy must know that too.

_“What's going on? Where are you?”_

“Men's bathroom,” Clarke says as she looks around again, trying to really focus on the room this time. “Diyoza told me to use it. One of them is outside.”

_“We know there are three of them.”_

“McCreary, Rabe, and I think Kodiak? But he hasn't said a word this entire time.”

_“Good, good,”_ he says and he must be relaying the information to others. _“And the hostages?”_

“Sixteen including myself. Only Diyoza has been injured but Bell, McCreary doesn't seem too keen on letting anyone go. I don't think he was in this for the money.”

_“No, he wants his ex-wife to suffer and he doesn’t care who else is caught in the crossfire.”_

That gives her pause, she figured Diyoza and McCreary were involved but it surprises her to hear that they were married. And then it hits her. “They have a kid.”

_“Yeah and the custody battle wasn't pretty.”_

There's pounding on the door and Clarke swears.

_“Clarke?”_

Why would Diyoza tell her to use this room? She looks around again and that's when she notices the air vent in one of the corners near the ceiling.

“There!”

_“What?”_

“There's an air vent in the men's bathroom,” she answers as she eyes the large storage cabinet in front of her, right under where she needs to get. “Big enough for someone to crawl through. This must be how he's planning to escape.” She opens the doors and tests how sturdy the bottom shelf is with her foot.

_“Can you get out?”_

She pauses, “I'm not leaving these people in here, Bellamy.”

_“Clarke-”_

“No.”

He makes an aggravated sound but doesn't fight her on it anymore, after years of being together; he knows when it’s a lost cause.

“I think it can be opened from the inside,” she continues. She starts to climb up the shelves, the task only slightly difficult with her belly in the way.

_“Careful,”_ Bellamy says in her ear even though he can't see her.

She manages to get her hand on the top and is able to stretch enough to reach the latches.

“Got it!”

She slides back to the ground just as Kodiak starts jiggling the doorknob.

“I have to go.”

_“I'm going to get you out of there.”_

She can't help but smile, “I know.”

Clarke has just enough time to turn off the earpiece and stuff it back down her shirt as she hurries back to the sink. The door is wrenched open and she makes a show of splashing water on her face and looks up to meet the guy in the mirror.

“I take it my time's up?”

He doesn't say anything, just moves out of the way in a gesture that means it's time for her to leave.

She glances in the mirror again and is met with the fire in her blue eyes, the same fire that Bellamy claims he fell in love with. Together. They’ll do this together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah! I went back and forth on weather or not they should actually talk to each other now or wait until the finale but fuck it! *I* wanted them to talk so I wrote a convoluted scene regarding a Bluetooth headset because it made me happy. I have never even used one before so I also don't claim to be an expert in how they work.
> 
> Anyway! Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7 - Bellamy POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I just want the cash,” he demands, completely ignoring Bellamy’s questions.
> 
> Bellamy nods, “We can work on getting you your money but it could take a while. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?”
> 
> The guy starts to fidget, “No, I just want the cash.”
> 
> “Ok,” Bellamy nods and tries to segue the conversation, “And what about the hostages?”
> 
> “They’re fine,” he says and is about to turn around.
> 
> “Wait!” Bellamy yells, a tad frantic. He composes himself before the Tiger turns back around. “We’ll get you your money, but I need to discuss the release of the hostages.”
> 
> The Tiger hesitates, “They’re not mine to release… I didn’t want hostages!”
> 
> “Ok, ok,” Bellamy concedes, trying to calm him down. “I want to help you, but I need you to help me, ok? How about you release some of them? As a sign of good faith?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to say I'm showing up late with coffees for everyone but I don't drink the stuff and honestly have no idea how to order it,

It’s been a little over an hour since Bellamy was able to talk to his wife. Actually _talk_ to her. Just another thing to add to the list of things he has no idea how she was able to pull off. He understands why she insisted on staying but he’s still allowed to be upset over her decision.

In that time, the team that Kane had dispatched to the location where the jamming signal was coming from made it and conducted a sweep of the building. No such luck in finding an accomplice that actually stuck around.

The team was able to turn off the signal with Monty’s instructions and now Bellamy was standing just outside of the tech’s van.

"This should do it," he says and taps the enter key on his keyboard with emphasis.

In an instant, three different screens popped up on his monitor, each showing a different angle of the lobby. When the bank had the silent alarm put in, they must have updated the cameras because the resolution was better than Bellamy was expecting it to be.

Clarke and Harper were huddled next to each other along with another woman that, judging from her profile, must be the Assistant Manager. He doesn't allow his eyes to linger for too long and starts examining the rest of the space. 

"Three robbers and 16 civilians, just like Clarke said," Miller confirms from behind him and Bellamy has to keep himself from scoffing because of course Clarke’s intel was accurate.

Kane is standing a few feet away on his phone but he hangs up and walks over. “We located the daughter,” he starts, “Hope Diyoza. She’s at Eligius Elementary in their after school care program. I’ve instructed some officers to stand guard and make sure no one shows to pick her up that isn’t supposed to.”

Bellamy nods, “Good. We have to assume that McCreary was going to make a move for her after he was done with whatever he had planned here.”

“If no one shows up, then I’ll have our men take her back to the precinct for protective custody.”

Bellamy nods again as his Captain turns to talk to Monty and survey the security footage. He knows that when his Captain says _‘if no one shows up’_ he’s referring to any of McCreary’s goons. But Bellamy can't help but think about that little girl and how she’s going to wonder why her mother didn’t come to pick her up.

He’s already sent a text to Madi, telling her to go home and stay there and not to worry, but he’s sure it’s only a matter of time before one of her friends Tweets or Facebooks about this and she realizes what’s going on.

“Sergeant Blake!” one of the newer recruits calls out to him as he jogs over, “here’s the building layout you asked for.”

Bellamy takes the blueprints with a quick thanks before unrolling them on the table they’ve got set up. He had asked for someone to get him an as up-to-date layout of the building as they could find, as a precaution. If McCreary manages to get out of this then they need to find all of his possible routes and exits.

“Clarke said she was in the men’s bathroom and there should be an air duct big enough for a person to crawl through.”

“Here,” Miller points to a square outline of a room that looks to have various pipes running through it. He moves his finger along the line that looks to be the air vent, following its path. “It goes to the storefront next door and then up on the roof.”

“Right, let’s get someone up there,” Bellamy orders.

“On it,” Kane leaves to grab another officer.

“We have the profiles on the other two guys,” Monty calls and Bellamy is next to him immediately. He notices that the feeds of the lobby are still up, the images moved over and designated to their own monitor so Monty can keep an eye on them. He transfers the rap sheets again from his main screen over to Bellamy’s tablet. “Rabe was mostly busted for possession. Looks like he was selling as well as using his product. The other guy? Kodiak?” Monty swipes the screen in Bellamy’s hands, “Homicide.”

“Jesus, how did he get off?”

Monty shrugs but its stiff, “Technicality. The three of them crossed paths when they were running with Eden.”

Bellamy starts thinking over the new information, flipping back and forth between the three profiles. It’s a little odd that three people with very different methods were able to form an alliance. He could see McCreary and Kodiak but Rabe?

He hesitates, “I don’t… I don’t think McCreary was exactly forthcoming about his real plans here. I wonder what kind of promises he made the other two.”

“My guess is that Rabe was solely in it for the money,” Miller offers. “Probably thought it was just a simple heist.”

“And Kodiak?” Monty asks.

Miller shrugs, “Pleasure?”

Bellamy closes his eyes; he doesn’t even want to think about that. He opens his eyes and pulls up Rabe’s profile again instead.

“We might be able to get this guy to crack,” Bellamy hands the tablet to Miller and taps the screen. “I think you’re right and he was just in it for the cash.”

He doesn’t wait for anyone else to chime in before he grabs the megaphone and strides towards the building. He’d been trying to communicate with them over the last hour but no one was budging when he offered food and water or medical supplies. Time to try a different tactic.

**“You want money, right?”** Bellamy asks, **“I can arrange that. There’s no need to hurt anymore people and we can all make it out of this situation.”** He pauses and takes a breath, **“I just need one of you to come out and talk to me.”**

He clicks off the megaphone and waits. He’s itching to take his phone out of his pocket to try and listen but he’s afraid that the amount of time he’s spent with it pressed to his ear already looks suspicious. Bellamy’s eyes scan back and forth along the front of the bank for a few minutes but there’s no change. He turns around so maybe his team can collaborate on a better incentive when Miller speaks up.

“Bellamy, there’s movement behind the door,” he says and Bellamy whips back around to look at the building.

Sure enough, the blinds that were drawn down over the glass doors are starting to move. A moment later and one of the doors is being opened just a crack. A man steps out and stands in the threshold so he’s half inside and half out, the door being used as a potential shield. He’s wearing a child’s mask with the face of a tiger.

The officers around Bellamy immediately draw their guns and aim them at the guy. Bellamy instantly moves forward and waves his hands to tell them to stand down.

“I want to discuss your terms,” the guy in the tiger mask shouts.

Bellamy turns around from his squad to face him. “Of course,” he says with his hands visible to show he doesn’t have any weapons. “I am Sergeant Blake. I will listen to your terms but first, does anyone need medical attention? Food? Water?”

“I just want the cash,” he demands, completely ignoring Bellamy’s questions.

Bellamy nods, “We can work on getting you your money but it could take a while. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?”

The guy starts to fidget, “No, I just want the cash.”

“Ok,” Bellamy nods and tries to segue the conversation, “And what about the hostages?”

“They’re fine,” he says and is about to turn around.

“Wait!” Bellamy yells, a tad frantic. He composes himself before the Tiger turns back around. “We’ll get you your money, but I need to discuss the release of the hostages.”

The Tiger hesitates, “They’re not mine to release… I didn’t want hostages!”

“Ok, ok,” Bellamy concedes, trying to calm him down. “I want to help you, but I need you to help me, ok? How about you release some of them? As a sign of good faith?”

The Tiger hesitates again but then he nods before turning back inside and gesturing to someone behind him. There’s more movement behind the door, and Bellamy can hear the faint murmurings of the robber talking to someone. Just as the man in the mask is turning back around all hell breaks loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see. :)
> 
> I'm determined to finish this before the end of the year!


	8. Chapter 8 - Clarke POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I want to discuss your terms,” Rabe shouts out into the parking lot. Clarke waits and then she can hear a muffled response from outside. Bellamy must not be using the megaphone.
> 
> Next to her, Diyoza shifts with a grimace. “This is not going to end well,” she whispers.
> 
> “What? Why?” Harper asks just as quiet.
> 
> Diyoza’s frown just deepens, “Because nobody double crosses McCreary.”
> 
> At that, Clarke feels a shiver run down her spine and her blood run cold. It’s then that she notices Kodiak is no longer looming in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! CONTENT WARNING !!
> 
> I have updated the tags for the fic but it should mostly pertain to this chapter. There is gun violence and lots of blood (or more than there has been in previous chapters so far or other fics I've written). I would describe it as canon-typical violence but still want to give a heads up in case it is triggering. You should be able to skip this chapter and understand what happened in Chapter 9 and 10. (If I need to make a note there as well then I will)

McCreary finally leaves his post in front of the lobby windows. Clarke’s eyes follow him as he heads back towards the hallway that leads to where the restrooms are, probably checking that his exit strategy is still in place. She wonders briefly if he’ll notice that the air duct in the men’s bathroom has already been unlocked. Diyoza cuts a glance her way and Clarke knows she’s thinking the same thing.

“We need to do something,” Diyoza says in a low voice. Even with their leader gone, the other two don’t seem to be paying the hostages any attention. “And fast. He’s not planning to keep us here overnight.” 

“Bellamy won’t let him,” Clarke says with conviction. The older woman meets her eyes again and nods.

“I have a taser in my purse,” Harper whispers, “if I could get to it. But I don’t know what good-“

The sound of the megaphone feedback comes from outside and then Bellamy’s voice draws their attention again.

**“You want money, right? I can arrange that. There’s no need to hurt anymore people and we can all make it out of this situation. I just need one of you to come out and talk to me.”**

Her husband has been trying to get one of these guys to negotiate with him, but none of them have been inclined to do so. Now, however, with the absence of their leader watching over them, she notices that Rabe has stopped dead in the middle of his never-ending pacing.

Clarke watches his back go rigid and, from one moment to the next, he seems to have made up his mind about something. He heads straight for the door, aiming his gun at the two hostages that are sitting the closest to it as he goes.

“Move!” he whispers but still with urgency in his voice.

The two girls whimper as they crawl towards the door and stop where Rabe tells them to. Then he’s lowering his mask back into place over his face and unlocking one of the front doors before opening it just enough that he can stick his head and shoulders out.

“I want to discuss your terms,” Rabe shouts out into the parking lot. Clarke waits and then she can hear a muffled response from outside. Bellamy must not be using the megaphone.

Next to her, Diyoza shifts with a grimace. “This is not going to end well,” she whispers.

“What? Why?” Harper asks just as quiet.

Diyoza’s frown just deepens, “Because _nobody_ double crosses McCreary.”

At that, Clarke feels a shiver run down her spine and her blood run cold. It’s then that she notices Kodiak is no longer looming in the room.

“Maybe we should stop him,” Clarke suggests, trying to keep her voice down, but she can feel a hint of panic rising in her throat.

“But it sounds like it’s working. Bellamy might actually get some of these people out,” Harper insists, “Look.”

And sure enough, Rabe is talking to the two girls that he forced over to the door.

“Alright, up,” he gestures with his gun, “You’re going to walk out one at a time, slowly.” He turns back towards the door, keeping them close behind him.

Nobody has time to react. One second Rabe is gesturing to one of the girls to move first and the next the whole front area of the bank explodes in a flurry of bullets and glass. The doors and surrounding windows are being fired upon from the back of the room. Clarke bends down over her belly on instinct and covers her ears to try and block out the sound of bullets firing, glass shattering… and people screaming.

After what feels never-ending, but was probably only a matter of seconds, the sound of gun fire stops, followed by the last of the tinkling sound of glass falling onto the growing pile on the floor. In the back of Clarke’s head, she registers that there are still people screaming and that snaps her out of her paralysis. Slowly, she eases herself up while still keeping a protective hand over her baby. She’s afraid to look where Rabe and the innocent girls once stood but she knows she has to…

And there, lying in a tangled heap by the door, are three figures. Rabe and the two hostages. Their bodies are surrounded by glass and blood; the damaged blinds hanging above them are torn to shreds, but are still managing to provide a fair bit of coverage from the cops outside.

There’s movement and Clarke’s attention is immediately on one of the victims. One of the girls is still alive. She was young, probably a few years younger than Clarke if she remembers her unmarred face. Her hand is stretched out as she reaches towards the opening that was once the door but is now a bright, gaping hole. McCreary doesn’t even hesitate. He moves closer, blocking Clarke’s view before shooting the survivor point blank. There was no more movement after that.

Self-preservation forgotten, Clarke makes a move to go to them, but Harper holds her back.

“Let me go!” she shouts as she struggles against her friend.

“You can’t help them!” she whispers urgently in her ear.

She’s right. Logically, Clarke knows that Harper is right. But it does nothing to fight the impulse that she _needs_ to get to them, that she can _help_ them. She stops struggling and feels the tears start to build behind her eyes. She tears her eyes away from the bodies by the door and directs her anger at the one responsible.

“How could you do that!?” she shouts up at McCreary. “Those were innocent people!”

He doesn’t even turn to look at her, “None of us is innocent.”

Clarke sputters for a response to that before her eyes land on the mask of the tiger that was thrown off of Rabe’s face and now sat in a pool of blood. “He was your partner!” she tries a different tactic, a different way to reason with this man who has so clearly lost it.

“You’re wasting your breath,” Diyoza says loudly and firmly, and this seems to get McCreary’s attention enough for him to turn around. She looks up at him, directly in his eyes, “You’ve only ever looked out for yourself.”

A slow smile creeps over his face and Clarke has to look away so she can control the bile rising in her throat.

“Careful, Diyoza,” he says, “or I’ll shoot you somewhere that’s not so easy to stitch up.”

 Clarke can feel her breaths coming faster and clamps her lips together.

"And you're just ok with this!?" Harper asks, her hand is rubbing soothing circles into Clarke’s back, but her question and the fire in her eyes is directed at the other criminal still standing in the room.

Kodiak continues to just stand there, motionless, with a mask on his face and a gun in his hand that is no doubt missing a few bullets after that eruption of chaos.

"Unlike my former associate,” McCreary says as he walks, with all of the swagger of man who’s going to get away with murder, over to his living partner and clasps him on the shoulder. “Kodiak here is loyal. He wouldn’t even _think_ about going to those pigs and making a deal behind my back."

Clarke tries to get her breathing under control; one thought running through her head, _‘This isn’t the time to break down. This isn’t the time to break down.’_

But then McCreary says, “I suspect we’ll be having visitors soon. We should get ready for them.” And she looks up to see he’s looking right at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're winding down! Thanks for sticking with this story!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Chapter 1 is really sweet so we can just pretend that the last bit didn't happen and call it a day.
> 
> I haven't decided what the update schedule for this will look like yet.


End file.
